


Rosie

by aintweproudriff



Series: Race, Spot, Albert, and Elmer [15]
Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: M/M, Multi, a little casual homophobia, these boys are growing up you guys, they get a dog!!!, veterinarian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-26 13:00:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13236264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aintweproudriff/pseuds/aintweproudriff
Summary: Prompt: Elmer finds a dog while he's out for a walk and tries to convince his boyfriends to keep it.





	Rosie

**Author's Note:**

> elmerspape had a fic in which Spot and Race have a dog named Rosie, and it was the perfect dog name so I stole it. Thanks, love you!

Sometimes, it could feel really nice to get outside. Yeah, he knew: what kind of young person liked putting their phone down and taking a walk, right? But the fresh air was much needed after a long day inside, staring at a computer screen and a Google document that refused to type his essay for him. Besides, it was the first time in weeks that Elmer had seen the sun, and he was beginning to feel suffocated in their apartment. He loved the boys he lived with, but sometimes it could be, well, disgusting. Smelly and stuffy and loud. So yes, getting out was good for him.  
The cold forced him to put up his hood, but he smiled at the chill and kept going on his way. Each old building and breeze that passed made him feel a little more peaceful, a little more happy to be out in the open, alone with quiet thoughts for the first time in at least a few days, if not weeks. 

The feeling shattered at the noise he heard coming from around the corner. Peeking his head out of his own little warm world that he’d created, Elmer let his feet reach in front of him, leading the way to the investigation. The whimpering noise got louder as he followed it. Then, as he stepped around to the backside of a huge white building, it suddenly halted. He looked as far as he could down the dark stretch of alley, looking desperately for any sign of what might have caused such an odd noise. Elmer stepped forward once, then twice. As far as he could see, the alley was totally abandoned and utterly desolate. 

“Hello?” he called. The only sound was the way his shaky, dry voice echoed off the walls. 

Just as he was about to shrug his shoulders and turn away, he heard it again. It was high-pitched and needy, like a broken pipe. He scanned the area, stepping slowly in the direction of the whine. There laid the source of the sound, in a tiny ball on top of a flattened cardboard box behind a dumpster. A dog. 

“Oh my god,” he muttered in disbelief. “You poor thing.”

Its fur was stuck to its body, matted and messy like it had been thrown in the mud and then left to freeze. Based on the way it was huddled in on itself and shivering, maybe it had been. Elmer reached out to touch the animal, praying that he wouldn’t be bitten. When the only response he received was frightened eyes looking back at him, his heart fractured. He thought fast and shrugged off his coat, laying it gently across the sad looking dog. Elmer pulled his phone out of his hoodie pocket and his freezing fingers dialed a number. 

“Al, hi, I’m so glad you picked up,” he couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. “Yeah, I’m fine. Yeah, I just went for a walk. Yeah, I’m alright, I promise. Listen though, I found a problem. It’s not a big deal, just kind of a, uh, thing that needs taking care of. Yeah. I need you and Spot and Race to come down. Where am I? I’m down by that ice cream shop where we had that date that one time? Yeah, the one where Race threw up. What’s the problem? Well, see,” he stuttered, and launched into his explanation. 

-

Race rounded the corner first, carrying an extra coat in his hand. Shaking his head, he walked quickly to Elmer’s side. 

“‘Thirty minutes,’” Race held out the jacket. “‘Thirty minutes,’ you said,” Elmer slid his arms through the sleeves. Like a fretting mother, Race turned Elmer towards him and zipped up the coat. “Forty minutes later, you call us. ‘I found a problem,’ he says. Ugh.” Satisfied with his work, Race kissed the red and cold away from Elmer’s cheeks. “You’re so predictable.”

Elmer chuckled, squeezing Race’s hand in thanks. “Not as predictable as Al is.” he pointed a finger.  
Race looked over to where their boyfriend was sat on the ground. Albert had his head next to the dog’s chest, and was whispering to it softly. Spot towered above him, his face thoughtful.

“She’s not hurt, at least not badly,” Albert stood up, brushing his dirty hands on his jeans. “She’s just cold, and a little sick. Lucky for her.”

“Her?” Elmer asked. 

“Yeah. I think so, at least.”

“So, um, what do we do now?” Race asked, shoving his hands in his pockets. 

Albert turned around. “We should, um, take her to a vet. They’ll know, like, how to help her, and if anyone’s lost a pet in the area.”

“Shouldn’t we take her straight to the shelter?” Spot shook his head. His tone of voice suggested that his opinion was the most obvious. “We don’t really want to get stuck with any vet bills.”

“I mean, yeah,” Elmer looked at the dog and then at the ground, “but I was kinda hoping-”

“Elmer. Don’t say that you think we should keep her,” Spot’s face was deadpan. Behind him, Albert was wide-eyed, all but bouncing up and down. 

“Can we just take her to a vet?” Elmer asked. “It’s the right thing to do, to take care of her. And we can talk about it then.”

“Fine. Okay.” Spot stepped forward, picking up the dog. She still shook, but nuzzled her face into the crook of Spot’s elbow. 

The four of them loaded themselves into Spot’s car, the dog on Elmer’s lap. They pulled into the parking of of a vet’s office, the address of which Race had looked up. They entered, Albert now carrying the dog. Race and Albert explained what had happened to the man at the desk, while Spot and Elmer went to sit with the dog. 

“You seriously think we couldn’t keep her?” Elmer looked at Spot, combing his hands through the dog’s knotted fur. 

“You seriously think we could?”

“Why not? I mean, as long as no one’s looking for her, then sure.”

Race and Albert sat down next to him. 

“She’ll be in in a few minutes,” Albert reached across to pet the dog. As soon as she looked at him, his face broke into a wide smile. 

“Look at how happy she makes Albert,” Elmer rested his head on Spot’s shoulder. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Spot rolled his eyes, but didn’t shrug Elmer’s head off. 

The vet came and took the dog back to be examined. For a few moments, they sat there silently. 

“Race, what would you think about keeping her?”

“Honestly? I really think it’s a good idea. The apartment allows pets. I know,” he laughed, “I checked.”

Elmer nodded slowly. “Spot, if she’s not someone else’s, it’s the right thing to do. No one else is gonna love her as much as we already do. Well, as much as Albert already does.”

Spot sighed. “We’ll see.”

-

The vet came back out, the dog following closely. It was the first time Elmer had seen her walk. She padded over to Elmer and put her head on his lap. 

“Thankfully, I can tell you confidently that she’s going to be alright. Poor thing’s had a hard few days, probably on the streets, not a lot of food,” the vet told them. “But as long as she has a safe home, she’s going to be good to go.”

Elmer looked at Spot, who stood up and walked to the front desk. “Did you find anything about if anyone’s lookin’ for her?” he asked the man. 

“Called the shelter,” he replied. “Nothing.”

Spot stepped back to his boyfriends, the vet, and the dog. He put his hand on the dog’s hack, petting her for the first time. Elmer looked up at him. The dog licked his hand. 

“Fine!” he shook his head, laughing. “Fine, we can keep her.”

“Yes!” Race and Albert grinned, high fiving. 

“For your family?” the vet asked them. “Will your parents be alright with that?”

The four of them simultaneously took a deep breath as they realized that the vet thought they were brothers. Because, obviously, they looked so similar. 

“I’m sure it’ll be fine, thank you, Doctor,” Elmer put on the biggest fake smile possible. “She is for our family, actually. I’m excited to see how she becomes a part of our little family.”

He shook the vet’s hand, and the other three did the same. They moved to leave, leading the dog with them, and pulling the vet’s business card from the desk. Elmer waved at the man working the desk, and when he noticed a tiny rainbow flag in the drawer, he smiled and shrugged. 

“What do we want to call her?” Spot asked as they piled into the car. 

“Rosie,” Elmer grinned at the dog, who looked up at him when he said the name. “I knew it when I saw her.”

“Alright,” Race smiled. “Rosie it is.”

“You’ve been planning for somethin’ like this to happen, haven’t you?” Spot turned the engine, and they headed home.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Come say hi on tumblr @spot-and-all-his-cronies!
> 
> Also also I know it's been a few days and I come back with this piece of crap. Whatever yall. (I'm just kidding it's not crap and I'm not sorry and I love you all)


End file.
